Community Eats Green Eggs, Some Ham

This summer I'm taking a tour of the wild side of cooking. That's the place in cooking where you don't necessarily have a recipe or cookbook or, for that matter, much of a plan. For me that constitutes wild cooking because so much of what I prepare is strictly from a book. Sure, I throw in a personal flourish every now and then, but I rarely venture into recipe-creating territory. Why this sudden change?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has forced me to change my cooking tune totally - at least for the next three or four months. Every week I'll get a bunch of vegetables, and I'll have to do something with them or they'll all rot in the bottom of my fridge; and I wouldn't want to do that to lovely, organic vegetables - ever.

Here's how a CSA works:
1. There's a farmer. He or she is ready and willing to work hard to produce vegetables for your table.
2. You buy a "share" or "half share" which allows the farmer to plant and nourture vegetables.
3. You get vegetables every week for however many weeks. Here in mid-Michigan, it's 18 weeks of organics from the Swier Family Farm.

I'll admit I balked at the hefty (for me) $200 price tag to split a share with a friend. I had all sorts of doubts and we'll see if any of them come to fruition through the summer. I wonder if I'll be so enthusiastic at the end of the summer? So often when I start a new venture, I'm enraptured; by the end of it, I'm ready to move on. As I trudged to the designated pickup location, I had big doubts.

Heavens, my initial fears and doubts turned to total veggie induced elation when I picked up my first share:

• mixed salad greens (about a half pound)
• arugula
• spinach
• swiss chard
• garlic scapes
• fresh oregano
• 13 or 14 radishes of different sorts
• three farm fresh eggs

Eggs and Radishes

All items are washed thoroughly at the farm and bagged, so all you really need to do is start chopping and cooking. I headed straight into the kitchen and made a fabulous frittata. And even using three-four cups of spinach, swiss chard, and arugula, I still have more than I typically eat in a week. Clearly, this CSA thing is worth it.

Garlic Scapes and Salad Mix

I got out my calculator and checked out the cost...something I'm not inclined to do very often. I paid $220 for 18 weeks of deliveries which works out to around $11 per week. I can safely say that I spend that much in vegetables and other foodstuffs every week. It's my hope that this CSA summer will reduce purchases from the local mega-store, and that I'll stop lugging heavy plastic bags into the house, and cease having newly purchased vegetables rotting practically overnight (due to being shipped across the country or around the globe) off of my list. These veggies come from just across the county line, and I can go visit the farm almost anytime. After all, it's my money that helps keep the farm afloat. Or a-planting...

Exactly what lucious vegetables I'll receive depends on the weather and the farmer's winter calculations. Given that farmer's are significantly knowledgeable about these things, I've got my fingers crossed for carrots, beets, sugar snap peas, zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, winter squash and who knows what else. Here's what I did with those eggs:

Swier Frittata Number One

Swier Frittata Number One

2 cups assorted greens, chopped. I used arugula, swiss chard, spinach
1/4 cup oregano, chopped
ground cumin, a teaspoon or more
1 huge radish, diced
8 eggs, beaten
Milk (or water if you don't have milk)
Butter
Olive oil
Asiago Cheese

Oh, the frittata, so initially intimidating - actually nothing more than a fancy scrambled omelet. Be sure your pan is well-seasoned and use plenty of oil or butter: your goal is to deftly slide the frittata onto a serving platter.

Place the butter and olive oil in the pan; I like a mixture of both, going heavier on the olive oil, lighter on the butter. Saute the greens and radish until wilted. Throw in the spices, eggs and cheese. Stir it around until well combined and let sit on the burner until the sides are firm.

At this point, you have a choice. You can put the whole thing (pan included) into the oven and finish it off with a little browning from the broiler. You can leave it on the stove top until the center is firm. Either way is OK by me, and I doubt your tummy will notice a difference.

When firm -egg firm- slide onto the serving platter and devour. If you have leftovers, they're OK to serve cold. I'd also suggest a dippy or saucey accompanyment. Whimp-ola me likes catsup (or ketchup,) while fresh salsa could also be delightful.

The other great thing about frittata's is the flexibility: saute an onion, throw in more or less cheese or a different kind of cheese. Nummy!